Facility

Reviews

From a First-Timer

“I went to New Life Ayahuasca having never traveled internationally by myself, didn’t know a single person and had never done any type of plant medicines. The entire experience was life changing! From the second I arrived, I felt my fears melt away. Matt and Jeanae welcomed all of us when we arrived and made us feel right at home. The house was amazing! It’s in a beautiful location, surrounded by nature. I saw monkeys, parrots and some other animals I didn’t even know existed. You get your own room and your own bathroom. This is perfect if you need a little alone time. Most of the other places don’t offer that and the ones that do, are expensive. The food was nutritious and really good. The ceremonies were beautiful, and they are held in a safe environment. Matt helped me prepare for the ceremonies and I felt like he really cared about helping and listening to me. That’s a big deal when you’re doing something that you’ve never done before. We got to do yoga with Jeanae, who is a wonderful teacher. I met some amazing people at New Life and I felt like we all connected. Everyone was so friendly and they were easy to talk to. The groups are a little smaller which in my opinion, is the way to go. Having experienced all that I did, I would have felt very overwhelmed if I was at a retreat with 10 +. I won’t speak much about the medicine because each experience is different for each person. My experience is hard to put into words. It’s been about a month and I’m discovering new things about life and myself every day. That may sound cliche, but it’s so true. I’m not the same person I was when I arrived, and I mean that in a good way. Going to New Life Ayahuasca was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. My intuition guided me here and now I understand why. I highly recommend this place! I’ll be back for sure. Thank you Matt & Jeanae!”

- Mike P

Feel the Love

“One of the most deep and profound experiences of my life. Matt is the real deal and an amazing healer. Jeanne is his perfect counterpart. From their delicious, farm to table, nutritious meals to their multiple plant medicine healing modalities, and amazing icaros, they work to massage away any emotional or physical difficulties that might be ailing you. They do so in such a grounded and wholesome way. The love and warmth is palpable. I left brighter, happier and more connected to nature and the cosmos.”

- Vinh Ngo

Follow-Up Review

“This is my second review of New Life Ayahuasca. NLA is a wonderful and at times a magical place. Those of you who have never taken the medicine might roll your eyes at my use of the term ‘magical’. That’s OK, just try it and see. Matt and Jeanae have created a safe and caring environment in which one can grow. For those who hear the call of Ayahuasca, the medicine can bring about amazing personal transformations. I am not the same man who first went to New Life a year and a half ago. Then, I was a damaged man who was haunted by a a rough childhood. I was prone to depression and quick to take offense. While I was good at my job, I wasn’t well liked because of my quick temper. Now, after three retreats, I am a changed man. My baseline is ‘happy’ and I nearly always feel content, which is not something most people can say these days. I am much less into myself and I care more about others, especially my family. I am less combative, more creative, and have an easier time seeing other people’s points of view. I feel lucky to be me and I feel gratitude every day. As a result, people like me much more which, of course makes me happier. It is a virtuous cycle. On an objective level, my EQ score has improved dramatically. Of course, this is just my experience. I cannot know what Ayahuasca will do for you. For me, though, it has changed my life – dramatically – and for the better.”

Is Ayahuasca a Cure?

Can Ayahuasca Cure?

We get a lot of people visiting our retreat center looking for healing and relief from some sort of ailment – depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction and other physical/mental diseases, and while we have seen a lot of success, we have also seen people return home without having made much, if any, progress. Ayahuasca does have incredible potential for healing but it is NOT a cure – for anything! We want to see people come here and grow from the experience, integrate it into their lives and be healthier and happier as a result, so I am writing this article with the intention to help inform those interested in ayahuasca as a treatment method so they may be better prepared coming into the experience for healing.

Ayahuasca is NOT a Cure –

First things first, Ayahuasca is not a cure for anything. Ayahuasca does not cure depression, or PTSD, or anxiety, or addiction, or anything. It is not a miracle drug. Of course the first step is to recognize whatever it is that is causing negative effects in your life and to want healing and relief from those things, but you have to be willing to put in the work to get it and oftentimes, that means A LOT of work. It does not mean that you are going to go to another country for a week or so, drink ayahuasca a handful of times, go back to your life exactly the way it was and be cured of whatever your ailment was. It is not quite that simple, as life rarely is. It is so important to realize that ayahuasca, on its own, does not fix anything. What ayahuasca can do, is allow for a shift in your perception, allow you a different way of looking at the things that contributed to your depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction or whatever it is, and find a different way of responding to your current situation and to life in general.

Make Changes –

Perceptions create our reality. Since ayahuasca can alter our perceptions, it can thus completely change the reality of our lives. This, in my opinion, has the biggest impact on the ability to heal through ayahuasca. But in order to experience lasting results, each individual needs to find a way to use and integrate those new perceptions to make changes in their lives as well as implementing new ways to maintain and advance positive mental health. For some, the ayahuasca experience is so impactful and full of such huge revelations that the changes to life that follow come easily and naturally, but I would say that this is not typically the case, especially when facing extreme forms of depression, anxiety, PTSD and addiction. For me, ayahausca did not cure me of my depression or addiction, it opened a door that let me glimpse the world through the eyes of a future self that was not inhibited by depression or addiction to see that life could be beautiful. I had to make drastic changes to get to where ayahuasca showed me I could be and it certainly wasn’t easy.

The point is, ayahuasca offers you an opportunity – not a cure. It is up to each individual what they do with that opportunity. Too often we see people at the end of a retreat feeling great and optimistic – feeling ‘cured’ – but when we check in a few weeks later, the symptoms have started creeping back in, and they’re finding it harder to connect to the things they learned in their experience because they got caught up with life. This is why it is so incredibly important to make immediate changes when you get home – ayahuasca can not do the work for you. She can give you a lot of tools, but its up to each individual to take responsibility for their own life and happiness once they arrive home. My suggestion would be to implement some kind of routine that keeps you grounded and will advance your health both physically and mentally such as exercising (known to do incredible things from depression) yoga, meditation, reading (Elkhart Tole – The Power of Now did wonderful things for me). Check our our recent blog about 15 easy healthy habits to adopt in 2016 for ideas. We are happy to help give suggestions. Talk to whoever is running your retreat if you need help.

Take Responsibility –

Ultimately, only you are responsible for your own health and happiness and making the necessary changes to your life after an ayahuasca retreat. The emphasis of this article is to help people realize that taking a week from their lives and drinking ayahuasca will not, of its own, cure them of anything. If you are considering a retreat for healing, please be aware and prepare yourself for long and difficult journey that lies after ayahuasca. The many articles you read, you’ll see that personal stories of success came with some serious life changes. While ayahuasca is an incredible, amazing, powerful, healing medicine that can change lives, it is not a cure.